Council’s Report Card Shows Positive Results

Published on 04 February 2019

Satisfaction Survey image.png

A community survey has confirmed that satisfaction with Snowy Valleys Council’s performance is improving.

In September 2018, Snowy Valleys Council commissioned a random telephone survey of 405 adult residents living within the local government area (LGA) to obtain the community satisfaction levels with Council’s performance.

The survey demonstrated an improvement in all areas since the 2016 survey, with 81% of respondents assessing Council’s performance to be average or above and over 40% rating Council as good or very good.

“The results demonstrate we’ve worked hard since the amalgamation to deliver the projects and services required by the community,” said Matthew Hyde, General Manager Snowy Valleys Council.  “However, the community has made it clear that we still have more work to do to ensure the entire Snowy Valleys community feels engaged and connected with Council and we will be making this an absolute priority for improvement”.

The sample of 405 residents represented the whole LGA and was determined a statistically valid sample, meaning that if the poll was conducted 20 times, results would continue to reflect the views of the overall community.

Over half of residents sampled were long-term residents, having lived in the LGA for 30 years or more.

The survey also ranked Snowy Valley Council’s survey results against eight other regional Councils.

“Comparison to other Councils is not our main objective when conducting the surveys, but it is a valuable tool for providing context and ensuring we keep our eyes on working towards delivering best practice for our community,” said Mr Hyde.

“Ranking second out of eight other regional NSW Councils in overall performance was a solid result, indicating that we are striving ahead, and not getting complacent or bogged down in areas of lower importance to our residents”.

20 Council services and facilities were measured. Almost half of those services were rated as both the most important focus areas of Council and receiving a high satisfaction rating, including:

  • Sports facilities
  • Swimming pools
  • Parks, reserves and playgrounds
  • Protection of the environment
  • Children's services
  • Emergency and disaster management
  • Waste management
  • Elderly support services
  • Water and sewerage.

“The survey gathered a diverse range of views from the community about how we deliver services and our overall performance,” said Mr Hyde. “As well as give comparison data against our performance in 2016, the feedback is also valuable in informing Councillors’ decision making processes around budget allocation, service delivery and project priorities for next financial year”.

The Community Satisfaction Survey results are available from Council’s website, www.svc.nsw.gov.au/satisfaction-survey.

Tagged as:
Back to top